Making Tea
by choiry
Summary: Naru is more irritable than usual, and he's driving Mai insane. One shot, stand alone, no lemon.


Hello, readers! I'm choiry, and this is Making Tea. Read, review, and please enjoy!

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><p>Sometimes, when Mai thought about her future, she could only envision the SPR office. Specifically, the kitchen, where she spent hours a week brewing tea.<p>

Sometimes, she _dreamed_ about tea.

It wasn't that she didn't love her job. The SPR team was her family, and she barely remembered what life was like without them. But on days like today, she envied her friends who worked at shops or didn't have to work at all.

She had been at the office for two hours, and she'd already made four pots of tea. If one more "Mai! Tea!" came, she was seriously considering homicide. Naru was even more irritable than usual, and there was nobody else in the office- even Lin was out for the day. It was just Mai, Naru, and the whistling kettle.

She left her desk to make _yet another_ pot of tea, hoping to finally get a cup for herself. She poured the tea into cups and water onto the tea, not bothering to put everything back into shelves. Doubtless Naru would finish this and call for more too quickly for it to be worth the effort of tidying the kitchen.

She was in front of his door when he started to call for her. Impatiently, she pushed it open and walked to his desk, putting the tea cup down so hard it nearly spilled onto the wood. Fuming, she crossed her arms and waited, determined to stay until he thanked her.

Naru leveled a nasty glare at her and grabbed for his cup, closing his eyes as he drained it. He pushed it into her hand and gestured toward the kitchen, looking smug.

Mai considered the benefits of dumping hot water on his head, and decided that, while it would be satisfying, he'd probably make her pay for any medical costs, so it wasn't really worth it. Muttering just quietly enough that he wouldn't understand her- not that she cared if he did- she stormed into the kitchen, making as much noise as possible while she prepared his drink. She stomped back into his office and slammed the tea onto his desk.

"Here! Drink your damned tea!"

Naru didn't even bother looking at her as he picked it up. He just picked it up and drank, waving a hand at her. Furious, she left his office.

An hour later, she realized that he hadn't called for tea in a while. She wasn't eager to see him, but the sudden silence worried her. Knowing her luck, he had probably drunk himself into a coma.

"Naru?" She didn't bother raising her voice; Naru was always complaining about how unnecessarily loud she was. He didn't answer, and she sat at her desk for a moment contemplating her options. She could be properly grateful for the respite and relax until he decided he needed her for something… or she could make sure he hadn't died of a tannin overdose.

Sighing over her stupidity, she stood and walked to his office door, knocking softly.

He didn't answer.

Mai was growing alarmed. Naru never ignored her; he'd grouse about her wasting his time, but he wouldn't pretend not to hear her. She pushed the door open slowly, dreading what she'd find.

There was Naru, chin in his palm, tapping a pen and staring into space. He looked up when she came in, and she noticed that he had faint circles under his eyes, as if he'd lost sleep.

"I knocked…" she trailed off, not wanting to tell him she'd been worried.

"I didn't hear you. What do you want?"

He sounded annoyed; if he hadn't been so brusque, she probably would have left. But, since he'd been short with her…

"What is the matter with you? First you drink half your weight in tea- tea that _you_ don't have to brew, might I add- and then you just sit for an hour doing nothing?" She glared at him.

He blinked at her, not seeming to have the energy for a retort. Once again waving at her, clearly telling her to leave, he laid his head on his arms, disregarding a stack of papers. Mai considered the circles under his eyes.

"Are you alright?" she asked timidly.

He looked up from his arms. "I'm fine. Go away. I don't pay you to stand in my office harassing me."

"I'm not harassing you, I'm expressing concern. What's wrong?"

This seemed to set him off. He stood suddenly and crossed to where she stood, taking her by the shoulders and backing her against the door.

"You are what's wrong with me! I haven't slept properly for a week because I spend every night dreaming of you. You, and your short skirts and bare legs!"

Mai fervently wished she'd left well enough alone. "Right then, well, I'll be going. Sorry to bother you, hopefully you can get a lovely nap…" she tried to push herself free, but he wasn't budging. "Naru…?"

"If you think you're leaving now…" he didn't finish his sentence. Instead, he leaned down and kissed her, moving his arms to hold her in a tight embrace.

Mai stood still, completely shocked. Naru continued to kiss her, moving from her mouth to kiss her cheeks and jawline. She was still trying to figure out how she got into this situation when his mouth met her neck.

She moved her arms around him, pressing closer to him. Naru moved to her face, smirking, and kissed her mouth again. Now that she was an active participant, Mai clung to him, enjoying the kiss. They didn't stop until they both grew light-headed, parting for air.

Naru walked them to his desk, sitting Mai on the surface and stepping between her legs. This time, he kissed gently, moving from her mouth to her throat, never stopping in one spot. Mai traced patterns on his back and wrapped her legs around his waist, keeping him close.

She was growing desperate for more contact when he stopped, leaning his forehead on her collarbone and panting.

"We should stop. I don't want to, but we should stop." Mai closed her eyes and tried to even out her breathing, knowing he was right.

She brought his face to hers for one last kiss, and then hopped off his desk, straightening her clothes. Naru moved to his desk chair and sighed, looking longingly at her. She snagged his tea cup and smiled impishly, practically skipping out of his door.

Sometimes, when Mai thought about her future, she could only envision the SPR office. Suddenly, that didn't seem so bad.


End file.
